From Brazil to Boardwalk: Rain Forest Wood Splinters Ocean City, N.J., Community

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Associated Press

From Brazil to Boardwalk: Rain Forest Wood Splinters Ocean City, N.J., Community
04-08-2007 12:50 PM
By WAYNE PARRY, Associated Press Writer

OCEAN CITY, N.J. (Associated Press) -- It looks good, lasts for decades and can support the weight of a police car or fire engine, not to mention thousands of people. With those qualities, wood from tropical rain forests has become a favorite for building and repairing boardwalks.

But the trend is upsetting environmentalists, who favor synthetic materials or wood from trees that didn't grow in endangered areas.

And while Ocean City tried to do the right thing by seeking $1.2 million worth of Brazilian wood certified as having been harvested responsibly, the flap that has arisen highlights a fundamental question involving rain forests: Is there such a thing as "good" logging in places like the Amazon?

"Every second, 1.5 acres of rain forest is lost, and with it, thousands of plants and animals and habitat for the humans living there," said Georgina Shanley, a local environmentalist.

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